Zanarkand thru a Mirror
by zIzI luna
Summary: Mirror Shrine--Ronso property, no touch, no see. Even so, Yuna goes there and finds a whole new world.


notes from zizi: same thing as before. Clearer. Better. Makes sense. Understand that edit is your friend. Nice friend. Read, reread,-whatever is the case-and post reviews. Halfway through chapter 1. Get it done in two weeks or so.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*\ Zanarkand thru a Mirror\ Prologue\  
  
*As the crowd cheered its united and deafening roar, Grand Maester Mika waved with a smile that depicted wisdom and joy beyond anything.  
"Today, is a great day," said the maester and looked into his young daughter, Yuna. " Yuna, you'll have to follow in my footsteps one day."  
Yuna nodded.  
"You'll have to lead these people with all your knowledge of Yu Yevon. You have to lead them into greatness. You understand?"  
Yuna nodded.*  
  
Those words, he always repeated. She wished he would shut up sometimes. Maybe leave her alone like he always did. Besides she wasn't concerned with power. Only he is. That's all he cares about.  
Yuna sighed as another great meeting of her father ended with the same praise as all his speeches. The Ronso leader patted the maester on the back and showed him into the dining hall while Yuna remained hidden in the background next to a pillar.  
  
*Quiet as a butterfly. A shadow of her father.*  
  
Yuna walked outside ignoring the blistering cold cutting her fragile face. A distance off, she had seen a glowing rock shining brightly against the bleak almost tragic setting of the mountains. When she asked some Ronsos the next morning, they told her that it was the shrine to the Mirror and then ushered her to the breakfast table.  
  
*'Mirror to what?'  
'To the cursed lost city. Where the birth of Sin arises. Fear hides it from the view of humans.'  
' But I saw it. I'm not afraid of it.'  
'Why don't you fear it?'  
'Why should I?'  
They didn't answer.*  
  
After that, the Ronsos grew reluctant to reveal anymore so Yuna was left to contemplate about its existence until two days later, when father and all Yuna's caretakers would be away at a special Ronso ceremony. She wasn't invited. They still considered her a child at sixteen. So she might as well go venture off on her own. There was nothing better to do and no one was interested in keeping her company.  
"Yuna!"  
Yuna turned around to see the face of an Al-Bhed arriving from the distance in a snow machina, massive goggles adorning her face and blond hair shooting out in all directions.  
"Rikku! What are you doing here? You can't be here, my father can see you-"  
"Don't worry about that; I have this cool snow machina to speed me away."  
Yuna touched the cool surface of the machina awing at its unusual complexity. Rikku told her all about how she and her "pops" found a stash of snow machina in a cavern not far off from the Ronso settlement. " I'm here 'cause my pops wants me to scout the area to make sure all is safe. Wanna know something really cool? Pops wanna find this ship that can fly in the sky and its near the ruins."  
Yuna smiled. At least she had Rikku to keep company for a while. Maybe Yuna could tell her about the shrine.  
  
*A mind yearning to be unleashed. Thirst for freedom's unquenchable.*  
  
" Hey Rikku. Can I ask you something?"  
"What?"  
"Can you stay a while?"  
"Uh, yeah. I guess."  
"Um, I'm out here to find out something called the shrine of the Mirror and I was wondering if you wanted to go with me. These Ronso people don't talk much about it and got me wondering."  
Rikku jumped off her machina and threw her goggles aside. "Sure! I love to have a bit of adventure. It's always tons of fun."  
"Come on then. Let's go!"  
With energy that matched the blizzard winds, Yuna and Rikku raced toward the glowing rocks where the shrine was located. The glowing rocks radiated such warmth that the cold penetrating their beings melted and rain fell instead of snow. Dust-like substance danced and twirled around them, tickling, shining, flying. Laughing, both of them ran inside the shrine.  
Magic like this came only from summoners, rare melancholy people who dedicate their lives to make other people happy rather than themselves. They always brought magic to entertain others and some, more discreet individuals made the Pilgrimage.  
As Yuna and Rikku were sheltered from harsh weather, Rikku gasped when she saw through the ice a piece of a large machina wing.  
"Well, this isn't a holy place for sure," Rikku said. " There's machina all over.."  
Rikku fingered the machina and ran her hands over the outline of it. Yuna followed though more and more curious about the origins of the shrine. After a few minutes of walking in silence, a door closed behind them and the place grew dark. Neither of them noticed because the Mirror was before them.  
It wasn't really a mirror but a molding sphere swirling and shifting strange images from its own volition. The wet turquoise color glazed the liquid sphere, and she saw the hands, hundreds of hands from hundreds and hundreds of frozen people. They held it up, their faces strained, their eyes closed, absolute concentration drawn on all their faces, and though all had its own distinctive individuality, pain was marked on all of them.  
  
Appalled, Yuna's hungry eyes tried to lock on everything in sight. So many people to see. So many faces. The walls were covered in faces: some smiling, some crying, some happy or joyful. They surrounded the Mirror, the molding substance. It was immense, ten times the size of Yuna and Rikku together and the people holding it, their muscles tensed, strived to keep it whole. The entire world rested in their grasp.  
Both Rikku and Yuna stood amazed. Words couldn't match to the greatness that laid before them so they stayed silent, watching and thinking.  
Yuna neared the substance until her face hoovered above it; she could look directly into the molding glass. In it, she saw a city with infinite lights dotting buildings like stars on earth.  
Yuna yelled and backed away.  
"What is it?"  
"There's a city in there."  
  
*Too curious. Like a cat. *  
  
A man began pounding on the door yelling words that Yuna couldn't hear. Rikku jumped when there were more pounding until all that could be heard was the insisting demands from their hands, wanting them to do something that could not be reversed. Is it a holy place, no, they said. It was cursed. No one ever returned.  
Yuna now knew that. She knew she couldn't go back now.  
"Rikku?"  
"What now?"  
"Can you stay for a little longer?"  
The door couldn't resist their weight for any longer. The hinges creaked and cried out in pain and the voices grew more and more ominous; they had become threats. Finally, the voice of her father was heard but Yuna didn't hear what he said.  
"Father, I'm sorry."  
  
*But most of all, she was a shadow. And shadows don't have minds of their own.*  
  
Rikku backed against the wall almost panicking. " What do we do? What do we do? Omigosh, they're gonna kill me!"  
"No, they're not," Yuna said. "Trust me."  
"Yuna...?"  
The doors would burst open any moment it seemed but Yuna had confidence in its strength. The sphere shifted more violently before its cracked places leaked water, which poured at their feet. More shifting, more cracking, more water. Again and again. Rikku was terrified holding Yuna's limp arm shaking her, demanding from her to think of something. Yet words could no longer penetrate her.  
  
*And then there was light. Walking towards it, she will find herself.*  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
So, yeah. Hope you enjoyed it. Post reviews, I'm fond of them. Promise next one comes soon.  
  
Gotta luv me,  
  
zIzI luna 


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